Jheel Ke Us Paar

Mera naam Danish hai, aur main Lahore mein rehta hoon. Mein apni Zindagi mein bohot dafa doston ke sath night outs aur trips pe gaya hoon, lekin 17 September 2023 ka din meri zindagi ka aakhri normal din tha. Iske baad jo hua, uske baad main na kabhi raat ko chain se so saka, na kabhi kisi sunsaan jaga pe qadam rakh saka. Hum paanch dost thay – main, Hammad, Babar, Shezi, aur Usman. Weekend aaraha tha, aur Hammad ne idea diya ke is dafa koi routine jagah pe nahi, kuch adventure karte hain. Usne kaha, “Chalo Murree ke qareeb wo purana Lake Retreat guest house hai na… suna hai wahan koi nahi jata, perfect jagah hai party ke liye.” Ye guest house aik sunsaan jheel ke qareeb tha, jiska naam bhi ab log nahi lete. Kehte hain ke wahan 90s mein ek family chutti manane gayi thi – maa, baap, do bache – lekin wo log kabhi wapas nahi aaye. Local log kehte hain ke wo jheel jadoo-tona aur jinnaton ki basti hai, aur jo bhi andheray mein wahan jata hai, wapas nahi aata. Lekin hum shehri ladke thay. Humein laga ye sab purani kahaniyan hain. Aakhir hum ne tay kiya ke wahan party karenge. Hum logo ne 5 ghantay ka safar tay kiya. Subah 11 baje niklay thay, shaam tak wahan pohanch gaye. Rasta pehli dafa mein normal laga, lekin jese jese hum us area ke qareeb pohanch rahe thay, network signals chale gaye. GPS band ho gaya. Har taraf jungle tha. Jheel dikhne lagi thi, aur uske saath wo guest house bhi — purani deewarain, tootay darwazay, aur aesi khamoshi jese hawa bhi wahan se guzarna pasand na kare. Hum sab ne hans ke kaha, “Perfect haunted spot!” Shezi ne music on kiya, humne drinks aur snacks nikal liye. Hansi mazaak shuru hua. Raat 9 baje tak har cheez normal thi. Lekin jese hi andhera gehra hone laga, sab kuch badal gaya. Hum log guest house ke ander the jab mujhe pehli baar mehsoos hua ke koi mujhe dekh raha hai. Main darwazay ke pass gaya, lekin wahan koi nahi tha. Peechay palta to dekha ke ek purani kursi jispe koi nahi baitha tha,woh khud ba khud hil rahi thi. Main samjha hawa hogi. Tabhi Hammad chilla kar bhaar aya, “Usman kahan gaya?” Hum sab usman ko dhoondhne, lekin Usman gayab tha. Har kamra dekha, jheel tak chale gaye. Paani itna gehra aur dark tha ke nazar bhi nahi aata tha. Tabhi Shezi ne kaha, “Mujhe lagta hai mazaak kar raha hoga, chhup gaya hoga.” Hum sab wapas guest house aaye. Lekin kuch theek nahi lag raha tha. Raat ke 11 baj rahe thay. Shezi bathroom gaya to wahan se chillane ki awaz ayi. Jab hum bhaagte hue gaye, to Shezi zameen pe gira tha, aur uski aankhen khuli hui, magar andar se khaali thi. Uska chehra jese kisi ne dho dia ho – bilkul bejaan. Wo kuch nahi bol raha tha. Sirf ek lafz baar baar bol raha tha: “Woh… woh paani se nikalta hai…” Hum ne usay uthaya aur car mein dalne ki koshish ki, lekin car ka ignition hi kaam nahi kar raha tha. Hammad ne phone nikala, no signal. Pura guest house us waqt ek azaab ka manzar ban gaya tha. Darwazon ki chikh-chikh, hawa mein ajeeb si seetiyan, aur jheel se nikalti koi kali silhoutte. Main aur Babar bhaag kar andar chhup gaye. Hammad ne kaha, “Main flashlight leke dekhta hoon.” Usne flashlight jheel ki taraf ki, aur hum sabne dekha — ek safed jism jese paani se nikal kar rakh ki tarah hawa mein tair raha tha. Uski aankhen laal aur bina palkon ke thi, mooh se sirf cheekhain nikal rahi thi, lekin awaz nahi — sirf dard bhari cheekhain. Babar ne Quran ki tilawat shuru ki, lekin us waqt jo hum pe guzri, usay lafzon mein bayan nahi kiya ja sakta. Shezi ne apna sar deewar pe maarna shuru kar dia, aur kehta raha “Usman wapas aya hai… lekin woh Usman nahi hai…” Raat bhar hum ne kisi tarah zinda rehne ki koshish ki. Har ghadi, har lamha aisa lagta tha ke koi humein dekh raha hai. Kayi baar darwazay khud ba khud khul jate, kabhi kisi bachi ki hansi sunayi deti. Jab subah hui, hum teen log zinda thay — main, Babar, aur Hammad. Shezi behosh tha, Usman ka koi pata nahi tha. Hum ne bina kisi baat ke wahan se bhaagna hi behtar samjha. Lekin car jab bhi start nahi hui, lekin kisi tarah road tak chal kar pohanch gaye. Peechay palat kar dekha to guest house gayab tha. Sirf ek khaali jaga thi. Aaj bhi main sochta hoon ke wo jagah asal mein thi bhi ya nahi. Lekin Shezi abhi tak mental hospital mein hai. Wo roz cheekhta hai: “Jheel ke us paar… woh ab bhi mera intezar kar raha hai…” |Aajki yeh story aapko kaise lagi comment mein zaroor bataiyega| |Aur haan share karna mat bhoolna: